Streets of Rage 4: The Sega Genesis classic returns, 24 years later

I'm going to be honest: When I heard that Sega was developing a new miniature Sega Genesis -- a la Nintendo's NES Classic -- my mind didn't go to Sonic the Hedgehog or Ecco the Dolphin. I immediately started thinking how much fun it'd be to play some Streets of Rage, one of the best side-scrolling beat 'em up series ever made.

So imagine my delight to learn a brand-new Streets of Rage -- Streets of Rage 4 -- is now in development. Publisher DotEmu announced the game earlier today, and you can watch its first trailer above. It's got a new anime-like style with hand-drawn visuals, but it's unmistakably Streets of Rage. Here's how DotEmu describes the game:

Featuring hand-drawn visuals from the team behind 2017's gorgeous Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap remake, Streets of Rage 4 builds upon the classic trilogy's gameplay with new mechanics, a fresh story and a gauntlet of dangerous stages with a serious crime problem. Streets of Rage 4 recalls classic gameplay but it stands as an entirely original arcade-style romp thanks to the expertise of Guard Crush Games and Dotemu.

Whether players gang up with a friend or clean up the city solo, Streets of Rage 4 is a skull-bashing, chicken-chomping delight all set to a thumping soundtrack sure to get your blood pumping.

So: Yes, there's still co-op. Chicken will still be eaten. Blaze and Axel (now sporting a serious beard) are back. But we don't yet know whether we'll be able to play as an exceptionally punchy kangaroo.